The people of Ukraine are experiencing a grave humanitarian crisis this spring. Be sure to check out local media for upcoming events and rallies happening around the city helping to support the Ukrainian people in their time of need.
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How The World Began
March 25–April 16
The Pacific Theatre will be hosting a production of American playwright Catherine Trieschmann’s How The World Began from March 25 to April 16. Susan Pierce is a transplant in her rural portable-turned-classroom, teaching science to high schoolers. But when conflict over an offhand comment to her strong-willed student Micah erupts, Susan and the wider community of Plainview find themselves unable to bridge the chasm between their beliefs. For tickets and cast information, please visit the theatre’s website.
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YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine
March 30, 6:30 p.m.
www.eventbrite.ca/e/yvr-screen-scene-for-ukraine-tickets-291027339607
On March 30, the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people will fill the big screen at VIFF Centre, an evening in support of humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The centrepiece of the evening is a special screening of Maidan, filmmaker Sergey Loznitsa’s powerful 2014 documentary about the civil uprising against the regime of President Viktor Yanukovych that took place in Kyiv in the winter of 201–-2014. YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine will also include a performance by bandura musician Ruta Yawney, as well as a post-screening reception during which light refreshments will be served. All money raised from ticket sales will be donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal established by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.
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Ndidi Onukwulu
March 31, 8 p.m.
Through her singing, Canadian singer-songwriter Ndidi O invites us into a musical universe filled with blues, folk, rock, pop and country that results in a musical journey that starts and ends in the soul. Her voice, her music, her style feels like old friends, but at the same time is hard to label under one particular style. She is truly her own creature. She will be performing at Burnaby’s Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on March 31. Check out the centre’s website for more information.
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Mutable Materialism
April 1–Aug. 28
Bringing both a painterly and sculptural approach to her photographic practice, Montreal-based artist Michelle Bui operates within the visual language of ‘the still life.’ Working with an array of everyday, seemingly unremarkable materials, Bui creates assemblages for the camera, building alluring scenes through processes of accumulating, merging, manipulating, and resituating. In her exhibition, presented on the CAG façade and at Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, Bui offers two new suites of images, each a reflection on the relationships between sense, sensation and desire. Whether referencing the seductive language of advertising, the tactility of the touch-screen, or the conventions of commercial packaging and display, Bui’s works engage and confuse, coaxing incongruous forms into conversation with one another to invite reflection on the ways we connect with and consume objects and images alike.
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The Young Beethoven
April 2, 8 p.m.
www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca
Delayed eighteen months by the pandemic, The Young Beethoven commemorates the 250th anniversary of the composers’ birth in 1770. Featuring an ensemble of outstanding West Coast chamber players, the programme presents works that Beethoven composed before the age of thirty. It concludes with his semi orchestral Septet, a work which was so immensely popular when first written that Beethoven was overheard declaring “I wish somebody would burn that piece! Nobody is listening to anything else I have ever written!” Check out the Evergreen Cultural Centre’s website for tickets and more information.
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Reel 2 Real Festival 2022
April 3–13
The Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth is coming back as a hybrid festival, in-person and online, from April 3 – 13. Their small and dedicated team has been working tirelessly to find the best of the best films for children and their families from around the globe, and will be presenting 10 films and 63 shorts, from over 29 countries and Indigenous nations. Some of the films include the Quebec dramatic feature, L’Arracheuse de Temps (The Time Thief), and the Canadian premiere of the documentary feature, Bigger Than Us. For a complete list of films and showtimes, please check out the festival’s website.
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Sakura Days Japan Fair
April 9–10, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
www.vcbf.ca/community-event/sakura-days-japan-fair
As part of the annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (VCBF), Sakura Days Japan Fair celebrates all things Japan, from Japanese food, performances, to arts and culture. Most activities will take place outdoors, with selected vendors, tea ceremony and experiences to take place indoors. Look forward to taiko drumming, theatre performances, woodworking demonstrations and a renewed Japanese Garden display, just to name a few at the fair! Please check out the VCBF’s website for
more information.
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Rajesh Vora: Everyday Monuments
April 9–May 29
www.surrey.ca/arts-culture/surrey-art-gallery/exhibitions/rajesh-vora-everyday-monuments
Mumbai-based photographer Rajesh Vora documents domestic sculptures mounted on rooftops in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab that tell a story of identity, diaspora, family and culture. Made from rebar, wire mesh, cement and paint, many of these intriguing objects serve as functional water tanks. This phenomenon is distinct to Punjabi villages, gaining popularity in the 1980s. At that time, local artists precast these sculptures from a mould that usually took the form of airplanes, falcons and footballs. Over the years, artists have custom fabricated the sculptures for each homeowner, resulting in more diverse and elaborate works of art. Visitors will see more than one hundred of these sculptures in this exhibit, hosted by the Surrey Art Gallery. Birds, soccer balls, airliners, automobiles, army tanks, weightlifters, pressure cookers, lions and horses are among the varied objects.
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Aggie
April 10, 1–4 p.m.
Aggie is a feature-length documentary that explores the nexus of art, race and justice through the story of art collector and philanthropist Agnes “Aggie” Gund’s life. Emmy-nominated director Catherine Gund focuses on her mother’s journey to give viewers an understanding of the power of art to transform consciousness and inspire social change. Aggie is internationally recognized for her robust and prescient support of artists–particularly women and people of colour–and her unwavering commitment to social justice issues. The film captures Aggie as a true maverick, who demonstrates the unique role and potential of collectors and benefactors to use art to fight injustice.
